I’m a bit unclear as to whether this video attempts to say that Paul Thomas Anderson was consciously making a trilogy out of these films or that they simply contain strong thematic links. I think it’s pretty obvious that the … Continue reading →

There’s a haunting simplicity to The Shining. Those words, combined with the director’s mysterious approach to discussing his films, makes this a work ripe for obsessives. The next gateway to obsession comes by way of accessibility. The Shining, dressed as … Continue reading →

Press Play and their always valuable video essays have been doing a feature discussing who they believe should win the Oscar. Here they tab Joaquin Phoenix for Best Actor and Philip Seymour Hoffman for Best Supporting Actor. While neither will … Continue reading →

I saw many solid films released in 2012. Of those, a few stand out a little bit more than the rest. Admittedly every film on my list is flawed in some way, yet there was at least one thing that … Continue reading →

Best Cinematography Nominees: Lincoln, Janusz Kaminski Skyfall, Roger Deakins Life of Pi, Claudio Miranda Django Unchained, Robert Richardson Anna Karenina, Seamus McGarvey A good case can be made for four out of the five nominees in this category (Django Unchained seems like an also-ran and … Continue reading →

Somewhere between blatant homage and honest character introspection exists Paul Thomas Anderson’s visual style. Seemingly from the moment he appeared on the major Hollywood scene with Boogie Nights, he’s been called something of a “rip-off” of other filmmakers, namely Kurbrick, … Continue reading →

I don’t pretend to know what the best film of 2012 actually was (as though these things can be defined) and I’m not sure I even know that I had a favorite. This has been a peculiar year filled with … Continue reading →

With the SAG nominations announced and the Golden Globes in place, the dust has settled on the majority of major precursor awards. While this season’s “Oscar movies” aren’t the best slate we’ve seen, they do offer a diverse group. Most … Continue reading →

Not that this short video goes very deep into the similarities between Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood and Kubrick’s films (specifically 2001: A Space Odyssey), but it does illuminate some of the fun visual references. More so than … Continue reading →

Best Sound Editing:
AMERICAN SNIPER, ALAN ROBERT MURRAY AND BUB ASMAN
Birdman, Martín Hernández and Aaron Glascock
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, Brent Burge and Jason Canovas
Interstellar, Richard King
Unbroken, Becky Sullivan and Andrew DeCristofaro